The Importance of Patient No-Show Management

In the modern age, cancelling plans seems to be something we have all just come to accept. This casual cancellation approach isn’t just with friends and family; it also happens to physicians. Even though appointment reminders help to greatly reduce no-shows, these situations still happen.

In fact, patient no-shows happen so regularly, that many physicians have signs in their lobbies stating that you will be billed a hefty fee for not cancelling within 24-hours. Patient no-shows, and current resolutions are problematic for several reasons. Find out why it is important to monitor patient no-shows and come up with a way to handle them that reduces this loss in profit.

How Do Missed Appointments Impact an Office?

Missed appointments without an advanced notice have an impact on a doctor’s office. While many patients may think that their no-call/no-show doesn’t matter, in reality, they are costing themselves and the physician money. That empty space in a doctor’s schedule could have been filled with a patient that would have actually shown up.

According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, the average rate of no-shows is very high and results in loss of revenue. Only 63 percent of medical groups actually track their missed appointments, with only 46 percent of groups with no-shows actually trying to address the problem.

Impromptu missed appointments leave gaps in a physician’s schedule that prevent them from filling the missed appointment with reliable patients. This not only impacts revenue, but with the rising trend of charging for no-shows, many patients just don’t follow up. Sadly, this results in patients not receiving the proper care that they need. Other ways that poor no-show management impacts the office include:

Wasted staff time

Decline in patient satisfaction

A backed-up schedule

A physician’s office can only leave so many messages before tracking the trail of your patient becomes taxing and complicated. Many offices use outdated systems like spreadsheets and prepared documents. With DoctorConnect, there is a presented option to monitor and manage patient no-shows.

Best Practices for No-Show Management with DoctorConnect

Many physicians can easily turn to blaming the patient as their no-show management. Take a good look at your office and how it is run. Is your office automated? Do you have a reminder and follow-up system in place?

DoctorConnect can help your office with our No-Show Management feature with our software. With DoctorConnect, you don’t have to pick up a phone to reach out to your patients. If you find that you have a no-show on your hand, simply select the right item on our dashboard and your patient will automatically be sent a text informing them that they have missed their appointment and need to reschedule.

This creates a time saving solution that will help you best keep track of the patients who routinely miss appointments. The rescheduling is on them, but at least your office no longer has to use its precious time to reach out to a voice message.

Wait List Management

Aside from sending bulk messages for patients to reschedule their appointment, DoctorConnect helps your office fill those gaps in your schedule. With our Wait List Management feature, patients have the option to join a waitlist that correlates with your office schedule. Upon a cancellation or no-show, patients on the wait list are notified, and your schedule can remain filled. On top of this, your patients continue to get the care that they need.

Request a Demo for DoctorConnect’s No-Show Management Software

If your physician’s office is tired of having to deal with the creation of complex spreadsheets and placing manual calls out to patients who don’t show up, DoctorConnect is here to help. Utilize our No-Show Management software and make sure that your patient is well taken care of via our program. Get started easy by requesting a demo today so we can show you how our system can increase the efficiency of your office.

Our ENT medical practice uses Doctor Connect for patient appointment reminders and patient satisfaction surveys. It was easy to implement, it is easy to use and we have had great results since using it. We have been able to reduce our no shows and free up appointments for other patients. We have also used it to notify patients and staff about an unexpected closing due to inclement weather. I highly recommend it! We run 7 physician and 4 audiologist schedules through Doctor Connect.

this product has been a real pleasure. It is simple, efficient and is reasonably priced. The service is great and any changes we need or ideas are handled in a professional manner. With 7 doctors this makes the confirmations and reminders a snap.

Doctor Connect is very helpful. We are able to communicate quickly and effectively with patients. It has been a lifesaver. Our sales executive is always helpful and friendly. She makes sure everything is operating exactly the way we want. 5+ stars

DoctorConnect has worked great in our clinic and integrates into our software which is a plus! Our rep Stacey Spencer is always available for questions! Our patients love their reminder texts, and it has helped decrease our missed appointment stat!